County and City Leaders Join to Oppose Reinjection at Aliso Canyon Facility

LOS ANGELES –Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander have each submitted motions before their respective legislative bodies endorsing Senate Bill 146 by State Senator Henry Stern. Stern’s bill extends the prohibition of gas injection into the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility until officials have identified the root cause of the leak and released the findings to the public. SB 146 would also change the deadline for the Public Utilities Commission to open proceedings to determine the feasibility of minimizing or eliminating the use of Aliso Canyon to December 31, 2017 from July 1, 2017.

“To address the serious concerns of residents living near the Aliso Canyon facility, this bill ensures that every effort is made to find and address the root cause of the leak last year which forced thousands from their homes, caused serious health concerns and disrupted countless lives,” said Supervisor Barger.

“It is unacceptable that as we approach the one-year anniversary of the closure of the Aliso Canyon Leak, we still don’t know the root cause of the largest leak in US history,” said Councilmember Mitchell Englander. “With over 15,000 residents relocated, 2 schools closed and dozens of businesses affected, it is simply irresponsible to reopen without a completed investigation. If you grounded a plane because of engine problems, you would never allow that plane to fly unless you were certain of the cause of the failure and able to prevent it.”

The Gas Company was ordered to stop gas injection and state regulators ordered safety testing and changes in the review process. This was in large part due to legislation passed by former State Senator Fran Pavley. However, now, state regulators are poised to allow the Gas Company to start injecting more gas into its storage facility — before they have completed the root cause analysis to determine the cause of the leak.

State law requires a public meeting be held before any gas can be injected into the Aliso Canyon facility and that meeting has been noticed by state regulators for February 1 and 2 from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Hilton Woodland Hills.

The Board of Supervisors will consider Supervisor Barger’s motion today and Councilmember Englander will submit his motion to the Los Angeles City Council today.